On February 22, 2000, Michelle O’Keefe, an 18-year-old, and her friend Jennifer Peterson drove separately to an Antelope Valley Transit Park N Ride parking lot in Palmdale, California. O’Keefe parked her blue Mustang at the parking lot before heading with Peterson to the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles for a Kid Rock music video shoot where they both worked as extras.
They returned to the parking lot around 9:30 p.m. and Peterson parked her car behind O’Keefe’s Mustang, which was parked under a street lamp. Peterson saw O’Keefe get into her car, shut the door, and start the engine before Peterson drove back home.
Raymond Jennings at The Crime Scene
At approximately two minutes later, Raymond Jennings, a 25-year-old security guard working at the parking lot, used his two-way radio to request assistance after hearing gunshots.
His supervisor, Iris Malone, arrived at 9:42 p.m. and initially did not see Jennings. After a few minutes, he appeared from behind his personal vehicle and motioned towards a Mustang belonging to O’Keefe, which was parked around 400 feet away with its engine running and rear wheels in a planter. Despite Malone’s request for Jennings to accompany her to approach the Mustang, he refused.
Malone then proceeded to drive to the Mustang alone and discovered O’Keefe had been fatally shot four times. Her left leg was hanging outside of the driver’s side door, and there were no signs of life. Malone immediately contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office and called Jennings to the scene. During Malone’s wait, a Toyota carrying four individuals slowly drove by and left the parking lot.
Upon the arrival of the deputies, they discovered a clasp from a pierced earring stud on the passenger side floor of the car, but the earrings themselves were missing. O’Keefe’s wallet, which contained $110, was found wedged between the console and the driver’s seat. The car’s engine was still running, and the manual transmission was in neutral. Additionally, a shell casing from a nine-millimeter handgun was found on the pavement.
Sgt. Raymond Lee Jennings
During the investigation, blood was found under one of O’Keefe’s left hand fingernails. Subsequent DNA testing revealed two incomplete profiles, which were not suitable for uploading to any DNA database. One of the profiles was identified as being from a male, but it was never matched to any known individuals.
Jennings Becomes a Prime Suspect
The day after the murder, Jennings informed the detectives that he had started working at the parking lot just a day earlier. Upon hearing the gunshots, he took cover because he feared that the gunman was still in the area. Two men in a truck came to the lot and asked about the murder and whether he had been on duty at the time. This concerned Jennings so much that he requested to be moved from the parking lot and no longer wanted to work there.
Michelle O’Keefe
On February 25, Jennings resigned from the security job, stating that he was working another job promoting a band. Three days later, the detectives retrieved Jennings’ security uniform. Tests conducted on the uniform showed no hairs or fibers that could be linked to O’Keefe or her clothing. Furthermore, there were no bloodstains or gunshot residue present.
On March 23, 2000, detectives conducted another interview with Jennings. It was revealed that he was a veteran of the Iraq War and a member of the California National Guard. Jennings possessed a .380 caliber handgun and claimed to be an expert with an M16 rifle and an M9 Beretta, which is the military version of a nine-millimeter pistol.
Jennings was interviewed at greater length at a sheriff’s office on April 7, 2000. At the conclusion of the interview, the detectives told Jennings he was the primary suspect in the murder.
Jennings Conviction and Subsequent Exoneration
Sgt. Raymond Lee Jennings was arrested in 2005 for the murder of a young woman, but after three trials, he was sentenced to life in prison despite a lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime.
Jennings in court
The prosecution relied on the testimony of an FBI agent, who claimed to be an expert in “victimology.” Jennings was ultimately convicted of second-degree murder with a firearm and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison.
In 2016, after a new investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office agreed that Jennings’s conviction should be vacated, citing newly discovered evidence suggesting that gang members murdered the victim during a robbery. On January 23, 2017, the habeas petition was granted, Jennings’s conviction was vacated, and he was found factually innocent. In March 2017, the state of California awarded Jennings $538,440 in compensation.